Ronaldo: I'd vote for myself for Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that he would vote for himself to win the Ballon d'Or, if it were possible.

Ronaldo, who won the award in 2008, has been named again on the 23-man longlist for the award. The Ballon d'Or will be handed out in Zurich in January, with votes cast by coaches and captains of national teams as well as media representatives, and Ronaldo insists he is worthy of the honour.

"If I could, I'd vote for myself," he told France Football. "I am what I am and I'm happy with that. Being too humble isn't good. In Portugal we say that too much humility is vanity.

"I play for the passion of football, and for the love of the teams I represent. If I was playing for money, I'd be at another club. All players love it when teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United or Chelsea dream about them, but that's not in my thoughts."

Former Real Madrid and Brazil striker Ronaldo believes that, despite Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliance, he feels Barcelona's Lionel Messi is more deserving of the award because of his "magic".

He told the FIFA website: "Messi would get my vote because, in addition to being decisive – scoring lots of goals and winning trophies – he's able to bring a special and different kind of magic to football.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is a very technical, very skillful and very pragmatic player, but Messi continues to produce the unexpected on a regular basis."